407 Inverting Right and Wrong

"Your Majesty." 

The Supreme Elder and Princess Faelyn both greet upon Heinrich's arrival. 

After Heinrich acknowledged their greeting and sat down on the throne, he gestured for them to be at ease and take their seats on the sides. 

"I heard you were going to be returning to your tribe, Marquis Haldir?" Heinrich asked. 

The elven Supreme Elder nodded and admitted, "That's right, Your Majesty. We have stayed in the kingdom for much longer than we have originally planned to. If we do not return and let our tribesmen see our well-being soon, I'm afraid that they might grow restless and do something rash."

"I understand. That would be a bit troublesome, wouldn't it? Have you settled your matters at the World Tree?" 

"Yes, Your Majesty. We have met with the esteemed Elder Evergreen and came to an agreement with his village, but I wonder what you have planned for my tribesmen, Your Majesty?" 

Heinrich paused for a moment before he said, "I have given it some thought. Originally, I planned to gift you a fiefdom to settle your people in the kingdom. But after a talk with my son one time, I have decided that we should let the people of our two races interact and not be alienated from each other." 

"Your Majesty's intention is to...?" Haldir was slightly doubtful as he looked at the king for answers.

Heinrich nodded and said, "A new capital will be built by the World Tree, and both humans and elves should live together in it. No doubt, the quickest way for two races to get along is to interact and understand each other."

"Even so, the elven tribe is not small. It will take some time before a city large enough to house everyone is built. As such, I plan to divide your people into groups and settle them down in the kingdom's surrounding cities and towns. This way, your tribesmen can also help with the various crop cultivation throughout the kingdom and boost the economy while interacting with my people." 

While listening to Heinrich talk, Haldir appeared to have some concerns for his tribesmen under this arrangement.

Heinrich understood what those concerns were and continued speaking, "I know what it is that you are concerned about, and I am also aware of the complications that will arise from this forced interaction between two races. Without a doubt, there will be discrimination and exploitation—Such is the nature of some people."

"However, we cannot let our fears of these things halt us in our steps and stop us from advancing towards our desired futures. If we are not even brave enough to take the step forward, when will we ever achieve our goals—right?" Heinrich said meaningfully.

Haldir repeated the king's meaningful words in his mind before he smiled self-deprecatingly. To think he would be educated by someone many times younger than him. Perhaps, this is why the person was king—a wise king.

Heinrich chuckled slightly and embarrassingly admitted, "Actually, someone else had said those exact words to me in the past. It is why the capital could adapt some crazy ideas and achieve such transformation."

"Also, you are mistaken about something, Marquis Haldir." Heinrich suddenly corrected with a promise, "You are all my people. I will naturally guarantee fairness for all my people. There will be no favoritism and bias due to race. You have my word."

"On behalf of the elves, I thank you, Your Majesty." Haldir solemnly saluted the king with a respectful bow. Princess Faelyn followed suit and did the same.

"Alright, I understand that you have places to be and things to do since you have made your decisions. I shan't keep you around any longer. I pray that you have a safe and pleasant trip." Heinrich bid his farewell.

"Yes, thank you for your blessings, Your Majesty. I plan to bring more tribesmen over after this trip back to Elvengarde." Said the elven Supreme Elder.

"Is His Highness around, Your Majesty? I also wish to bid the prince farewell before we leave." Princess Faelyn suddenly said to the king.

However, Heinrich shook his head, "I am afraid that will not be possible. My son has left for somewhere far away. It is uncertain when he will return the kingdom."

"Is that so?" 

Princess Faelyn expressed mild disappointment, but she quickly got over it. She bade her goodbye with a curtsy, "Thank you for receiving us and seeing us off, Your Majesty. Until we see again."

"Until we see again. Oh right, feel free to stop by the Lancaster's Workshop Tower and take one of the airships back. I'm sure it will be more convenient for your travel." Heinrich added.

Haldir and Princess Faelyn expressed their gratitude once again before they left the palace. They followed the king's suggestion and dropped by the Lancaster's Workshop Tower. 

Shortly after, the Duke and Duchess lent them a spare airship and crew before they took off for the west.

…

Infertile Plains, Darkmoon Tribe.

Within the tribe's central district, near the foot of the rocky plateau at the center, there was a relatively large plot of land, walled off on all sides and belongs to the Golden family. 

Inside of a large hut within the said plot of land, Lord Goldenfang laid asleep on the bed with several other people gathered outside with looks of concern.

At that moment, Goldeneye stormed into the hut and gazed upon his father's weak sleeping face before his expression dropped.

"Brother, you're finally here." Goldenrod greeted from the side of the bed.

Goldeneye nodded before asking heavily, "How did this happen to father? He did not look this pale earlier in the day."

"I'm not sure either. I have just arrived not long ago and have yet to learn about the situation. However, the men outside appear to know what happened to father." Goldenrod explained.

"I see."

Goldeneye immediately left the hut and swept everyone a sharp look before asking in a commanding tone, "Who can tell me what happened to my father?"

The group of people immediately shivered and dropped to their knees. Goldeneye is usually approachable and easy-going, but it is enough to terrify everyone present once he is mad. 

They had never seen Goldeneye kill a tribesman before, but they have seen him feed other humans to his Dark Wyvern during confrontations with other groups on their big hunting trips. 

No one wanted to face the wrath of the Dark Wyvern.

"My Lord, it was like this…"

A brave warrior at the Early-rank Great Warrior Realm from the Beast Tamer Faction began to recount what he knew to the Goldeneye. 

In summary, the Beast Tamer Faction's White family sold their Barrenrock Courtyard to the chief and learned firsthand information of Leonhardt joining the tribe. They relayed the information to Lord Goldenfang after learning that Goldeneye was absent from home.

"Is this true?" Goldeneye furrowed his brows deeply and questioned the few people from the White family. 

They did not dare to hide anything and nervously admitted, "Y-Yes, Lord Goldeneye! We are terribly sorry. We did not know that Lord Goldenfang would end up like this!"

Goldeneye closed his eyes briefly and repressed his turbulent emotions. He reopened his eyes after calming down slightly, and impassively said, "You should not have done that."

"My father has dedicated his entire life to raising the Golden family's status to greater heights in the tribe. He's been pushing me for the tribal chief position, but this is not an easy position to obtain without absolute strength. Nevertheless, father has become impatient in recent years due to his old age and declining health… he should have been the last person to speak to about faction matters."

Goldeneye appeared to be speaking to himself before he shook his head and refocused his gaze on the White family members with a sharp glint. 

"I will punish you all to 20 hard lashes, do you accept?" He asked.

"We accept!" 

Goldeneye turned to the side and gestured to the other warriors to carry out the punishment. The warriors complied and took out a terrible and lethal-looking bone whip, made from a demonic beast's spine with numerous sharp points to administer the punishment. 

No doubt, the reinforced skin of warriors will still be lacerated if they were to be whipped with such a weapon. Despite that, the White family accepted their punishment gladly.

While the punishment was being carried out, Goldeneye inquired the rest of the details from the two warriors that followed Lord Goldenfang to meet Leonhardt previously. 

The two warriors recount the event to Goldeneye. Still, they did not forget to invert black and white, making themselves out to be the reasonable party while Leonhardt was unreasonable and overbearing.

"Lord Goldenfang invited that person so courteously, but that person was just too arrogant and disrespectful. Not only did that person refuse Lord Goldenfang rudely, but he also insulted your family! My Lord, you must take revenge for this injustice!" The warrior said.

Goldeneye watched the two warriors speak with an indifferent look before calmly asking, "Is that what really happened?"

Lord Goldenfang was old-fashioned and placed great importance on the seniority of one's age. Goldeneye cannot imagine his father extending an invitation to someone from the younger generation politely without throwing his weight around.

The two warriors immediately sweated and dared not to utter another word of nonsense after hearing Goldeneye's question.

His eyes shortly flickered with a cold glint.